Posted on 03/30/2016 7:08:26 AM PDT by central_va
“Free trade” sounds great: consumers get the benefit of increased competition for their buying dollars, manufacturers get to locate or source from the lowest cost labor pool, and exporters have the opportunity to sell into new markets with no tariffs. What could be bad about that?
Fundamental Flaws In “Free Trade”
There are at least two fundamental flaws with “free trade” that have led to the most massive wealth transfer in the history of the world (over $8 trillion has been lost by the United States from 2000-2013 through trade deficits caused by the elimination of tariffs).
1. Impossible to enforce
The premise that all countries will play by the same rules is impossible to enforce and hugely expensive, time-consuming and inefficient to contest. The reality is that trade is impacted not only by tariffs, but also by other much more intangible state-sponsored “trade weapons” such as currency manipulation, technology transfer requirements, joint-venture policies, selective customs policies, underhanded government subsidies and incentives, labor rates and policies, and countless other tools.
We are relying on “faith-based economic policy” when we think that somehow, other countries won’t take advantage of the much sought-after American wealth when we place them in a situation with no way to oversee or penalize their misdeeds.
(Excerpt) Read more at economyincrisis.org ...
“Free trade” is a convenient, well-packaged ideology that resonates with consumers, CEOs and politicians. There is now a stigma that American-made goods are cheap, undesirable, of poor quality, and in poor taste. Clearly the only group unquestionably damaged by “free trade” is American industry and, ultimately, the middle class that relies on domestic industry for employment and opportunity.
While perhaps good in theory both assume you live in a world where everyone else plays by the same rules and won't take advantage of the situation.
They simply do not care about those jobs because they, and nobody who matters to them will ever hold them. This is why manufacturing going away doesn’t bother them a bit. This is why with a snap policy chance for no legitimate reason, they destroyed the coal mining industry.
It all goes to the same root cause. DC does not care about normal people. In fact, they mostly have contempt for them.
“Free Trade is to our economy what open borders are to immigration.”
In fact they are VERY closely related. Open borders is a final phase. You bring the third world here, and can do cheap manufacturing at home.
Again, screw what it does to the culture of the nation.
Exactly. There can be no “free trade” with communist/totalitarian/socialist or cartel systems in ‘governments”. Nor can “socialism” exist in this country for “free trade” to exist——(forced slavery)——but it does and it is unconstitutional—so it will distort EVERYTHING.
That used to be understood by rational people-—but now we have 100 years of brainwashing (Eddy Bernays “Marketing of Ideas”-——and ALL the perceptions promoted by the MSM are lies and misinformation and children will remain oblivious to the Truth. The lack of education is intentional-—to confuse and create chaos and “happy slaves” for the super elites. Emotions (not Knowledge and Wisdom) rule.
The Left has destroy critical thinking by removing and banning Classical Christian curricula for operant conditioning (Common Core/data collecting on emotions/desires, etc) from the public schools and public square. There is no understanding of the worldview of our Founders-—NONE——and the philosophy of Locke and Adam Smith-—where Virtue is essential to Freedom.
Free Trade is like burning your house down because you don’t like it’s color.
Nutty article.
Nutty responses so far.
We don’t have free trade. We’ve virtually never have had free trade since the turn of the 18th century. We have regulated trade. It’s regulated at both ends. The receiving country and the delivering country.
Trade exploitation is not free trade.
The closest thing you’ll see to free trade is interstate commerce in the U.S.
Agree.
I’ve heard more than one person say that we’ll just have to accept third world living standards if we want to compete. Of course, they don’t mean that from themselves, just the rest of us.
I don’t believe there are flaws with Free Trade, there are flaws with the way we pretend we have it...and exercise it. Free Trade, like Free Market economies in general are by far the best choice. But, we do not have free trade, we have stupid trade...that is the problem.
Free trade isn’t fair when it’s free for everyone else and cost us money.
We all run a trade deficit with our local supermarket too...So what?
Really stupid analysis. You are an American, your grocer is an American and you are exchanging US dollars inside the USA. Do you not see the difference?
For one thing my grocer pays into Social Security...
The grocer exchanges dollars all over the world, and you don’t travel to Korea to buy a Samsung...You buy it right here with Us Dollars from an American who is paying US taxes including FICA.
The basic flaw. Too much government control and intervention.
Income Tax is WAY to much government interference. More tariffs less income taxes. Fascists love the income tax.
In a context of irredeemable paper money, a concern about the outflow of this type of money due to a negative balance of trade is absurd. Nothing could be easier than to replace this money with some additional electonic entries on the ledgers of the fed, the treasury, and the banks.
If two countries with a huge labor cost differential engage in “free trade,” eventually, all the production that benefits from cheaper labor will flow to the lower cost country in the absence of a countervailing influence like tariffs.
Free trade is a benefit to the economic system as a whole, and not any one particular group, for the purpose of continuously increasing general prosperity. In a context of free market in labor and gold standard there are short term consequences and long run consequences, that should not be conflated. The outflow of money from an initial trade deficit, reduces aggregate demand, which reduces both money wage rates and prices, which leaves the standard of living for the average worker stable. Lower wage rates reduces cost, which reduces unemployment, which makes it easier to find employment if one loses one's job. Lower cost makes American prices lower, which makes American goods more desirable, which stimulates exports. Some part of the American market initially lost to imports would be regained and at the same time an expansion of exports would take place. Lower prices of imports would stimulate imports. Thus both imports and exports would increase. With the operation of the law of comparative advantage, the pattern of employment would shift with more employment in those industries able to export. The net gain of the system as a whole would be that the additional imports it obtained represented more and better goods than it could produce with the same labor devoted to producing for the domestic market.
The problem is not free trade, but is the libtard context of controls, regulations, high taxes,labor demands, and war on business, which hamper the free market in labor and business, and makes American business uncompetitive.
Actual free trade and low to no taxes and regulation on business would advance the most productive economies, bring such economies ever increasing prosperity. That would be us as we have the most productive and innovative labor force on earth. Free trade and deregulation and detaxification would also bring the world’s greatest industries to HERE. “Free Trade” as practiced by statists includes no elements of free trade as every relationship is determined by politicians and includes trade definitions and controls and assignations of favors and quasi monopoly status. The only way to implement free trade and benefit immensely as society from it is to simply cut off the taxes and regulations on business and eliminate all tariffs, limits, controls of any sort.
Free Trade is a myth, it doesn’t exist.
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